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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24752779">Flight of the Herald</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_teapot/pseuds/the_teapot'>the_teapot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Art of Aerodynamics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Adventure &amp; Romance, Backstory, F/M, Friendship, Historical Fantasy, Magic, Mild Gore, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Origami magic, Own Characters - Freeform, POV First Person, Slightly Steampunk, almost, corrupt government, different universe, historical fiction - Freeform, independent mystery solving, lenti plum is an animal, max has an injured leg, not really tho, paper powers, slight detective work but not the traditional police type, that's why he hobbles around, the history is not like our own version, will change some tags once the story continues and take different paths, will edit soon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:29:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24752779</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_teapot/pseuds/the_teapot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An emotional tale of the vanishing of Helsen Wagner, a young cartographer, and his wife. His belongs had vanished along with all the traces of his personal life. Was his disappearance really an accident? Or was it an elaborate coverup of by the corrupted government...</p><p>Maximus Collins, a fellow colleague of Wagner, is willing to do anything to bring justice to the incident. A mysterious note tips him with a familiar location. With the help of a few friends and some strangers along the way, perhaps Max is able to uncover a dark secret and destroy it once and for all.</p><p>Max comes to a realisation of all the moments he had with Wagner, finally appreciating the unusual friendship the pair shared.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Helsen Wagner/Nicole Wilbur, Maximus Collins/Ruth Merrybell</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Flight of the Herald</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <strong>There was a grave, marked 37. No epitaph, no date. Only a name.</strong>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>
  <span>Helsen Wagner was a very private person, as he was soft-spoken and often kept to himself. Although he was only in his late 20s, he was already married. Before his disappearance, he was a very talented cartographer and was my colleague. I worked with him for a few years and yet I hardly knew about his personal life. However, we undertook exceptional work to discover a new island off the far coast of Begil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The small town eventually learned how he died, it wasn’t ignored. The revelation made it to the small section in the local newspaper, just below a satirical cartoon of some political debate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was an avalanche and an unmanned wagon skidded on ice and at top speed, obliterated poor Wagner’s carriage into smithereens. The unrecognisable remains of the man were later found within the wreckage. However, I had later learned that it was a sunny day yesterday and there was no sign of any form of avalanche announced throughout the day. It all seemed a bit fishy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I had mourned for him, for he was a terrific partner albeit quiet but certainly friendly. I could almost call him a friend.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>His life has unfortunately ended, but one thing remained.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A small piece of parchment that had a symbol of a feather lay untouched on the scene. The wind carried it afar, its edges flapping softly like a bird. The paper travelled for almost a day before it landed straight into my open window, onto my desk.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was dusk, and I had just woken up from my daily naps. I had heard a strange and quiet chirping noise, neither bird nor artificial. I hobbled over to my study room and there, upon my desk, lay the parchment, decorated with faint spots of dried blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, in front of my very eyes, the paper began to transform. The leafs folded gingerly to become... a small bird. So that’s what made the chitters.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfinished business?” I questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The bird nodded and gestured to its right wing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I noticed that there were three words etched delicately into the material:</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span class="u">
        <span>Travel to Dequin</span>
      </span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The name of the island Wagner and I located</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I realised.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I went to retrieve my dusty coat.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Journey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Unexpected help?!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cold wind forced Max to shiver. He had forgotten to bring a warmer coat since the area that he lives in never was chilly at all. Being this far up in the air certainly was not pleasant. It was a whole new experience for Max.</p><p>The 25-year-old cursed under his breath and petulantly sat in the corner of the basket, trying his best to wrap the fabric around himself tighter around his body. It took a few hours for him to set up his transport. The sides of the parachute stuck together when Max pulled it out from his shed. The box of matches that he retrieved from his cupboard was soggy due to the unrelenting days of rain. He really needed to patch up his ceiling. It was leaking such a ridiculous amount of rainwater that it could flood his small house.</p><p>As the hot air balloon soared through the fog, Max peered at the rattling burner to see if there were any faults in the twin cylinders. It was loud but he got used to it. Worry gnawed at his insides. Had he even thought this through? Was the journey even worth it? Max wasn’t sure if anyone on the island would let him in, let alone trust him. Helsen didn’t even publicise the map they had worked on together. Max was surprised that they found an island so easily because the world was already so advanced and pretty much all the small isles were found.</p><p>Technically speaking, they didn’t really step foot onto the island as Helsen suspiciously steered their transport away from the land as if Max wasn’t supposed to see it. Max was especially confused as the purpose of finding an island was to mark the location AND to map out the geographical features. How were they going to accomplish that by only viewing it aerially? Max was obviously upset and argued with Helsen, but the man in question merely stood there, posture steeled and remaining silent.</p><p>What was Helsen trying to hide from him?</p><p>Did the island even exist?</p><p>Or was it an illusion?</p><p>Everything was ridiculous. He shouldn’t be going there. But somehow, Helsen trusted him enough to lead him to an island to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Max tried to shut these thoughts out. He fumbled around his left coat pocket and dug out a compass. He stared at small tool, trying to stabilise his movements to get accuracy in his course. The small hands on the compass seemed to be twitching. The transport he was steering was supposed to be heading east.</p><p>Was it the right direction? The malfunctioning device was definitely leading Max to the wrong way.</p><p>Before he could drown in his anxiety, he felt the blanket of exhaustion take over. He sighed and drank some water from his bottle to settle his thoughts. Max was tall enough to sit and still be able to gaze over the edge of the basket. The sunset was magnificent. It was truly a spectacular sight. Although he wasn’t too fond of heights, he couldn’t help but admire the beautiful colours of red, orange, pink and purple splashed onto the canvas of the sky.</p><p>Max inhaled deeply, a sense of peace seeping into his mind. He exhaled out his nose and stretched his limbs, finally able to relax his tense muscles. He lied down on the bottom of the basket and clutched his old coat around him tightly, trying his hardest to keep in as much body warmth as possible. Max coughed, feeling the dry, thin air creep into his lungs. The constant drone of the strong flame from the burner above him lulled him into a weary nap.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>A few hours had passed. The colours present in the sky before were now replaced with dark splotches of navy and grey. The crescent moon in the distance shone brightly, casting silver light onto Max’s sleeping figure.</p><p>Seconds later, there was a quiet movement in his front shirt pocket. The button on the fabric popped open and a small figure emerged. The paper bird cautiously poked its head out of the opening and scanned its surroundings.</p><p>The bird eyed him and noticed that the poor man was shivering, even in his deep slumber. A part of his coat quivered gently in the wind and the bird caught the fabric in its beak and gingerly tucked it underneath Max’s stomach. Its gaze lingered for a while before it crept out and flapped up to perch on the edge of the basket. The bird stared out into the open and calmly scanned over the horizon.</p><p>It slowly raised a wing to gently brush the mist in the air. The water vapour shimmered like golden glitter. Each little particle danced around the air and playfully swirled around the hot air balloon. The sparkles glided around the sky and swept a small breeze across the burner to dim the flame. The air balloon began to descend slowly. Max stirred slightly and let out less strained breathes.</p><p>A faint voice breathed out like a breeze and let out a hushed giggle. “I see you’ve brought a visitor, Helsen. Welcome back.”</p><p>With one last glance at Max, the bird leapt off the edge and departed into the night, accompanied with the small shining orbs.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Max opened his heavy eyes, he blinked at the dim sunlight. He groaned, the hard basket underneath him creaked as he struggled to shift his body into a sitting position. He soon realised that his right leg was immobile and he cursed out loud.</p><p><em>It’ll take a while to let the stiffness subside,</em> he thought.</p><p>Max let out an agitated sigh and attempted to smooth out his tangled coat instead. At least the rest of his limbs worked. He groggily checked his pocket watch and saw that approximately 8 hours had passed. There was a thin wall of fog that seemed to be covering the ‘entrance’ of something. When the air balloon passed through the border, the mist began to dissipate and cleared Max’s view.</p><p>He gasped.</p><p>There, in front of him, was the outline of a small and familiar island.</p><p>Dequin.</p><p>However, as his transport flew nearer to the island, Max saw a cluster of buildings around the forests. There was a town?! Furthermore, there was a large farm with huge clusters of what seemed like short, thin trees and with farmers working on the land. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he initially thought the island was completely barren.</p><p>Max was slack-jawed and rubbed his eyes vigorously. He blinked several times. The island was still there. He almost got up and danced. He prepared some ropes and retrieved his rucksack from the corner of the basket for the landing.</p><p>Perhaps the people on the island could help him after all.</p><p>Max was filled with newfound hope.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the beginning!! Super slow posting, sorry. The story will change drastically though, so I will fix a lot of stuff in the future, Comments and kudos are appreciated!! :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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